Greetings Captain, If you've been with us for a while, you may be surprised to see a Developer's Diary today. So far we have always kept at least two weeks between Developer's Diaries, so why should that change now? What's the occasion? Well, the occasion is that today is the 2nd of August, the second anniversary of Boat Crew's release on Early Access. Two years ago, when Boat Crew launched, we thought Early Access would last 6 months with the game having a considerably smaller scope than it has now. The overwhelming support we have received since then prompted us to develop the game much further than our original plans entailed. It's been a wonderful two years and we can't overstate how much we appreciate your support of Boat Crew. She is a labor of love, and with your support, combined with our effort, has come a long way in the last two years. We're happy to say that we still have quite a bit we'd like to add, and so this upcoming Big Update won't be the last one, but it will certainly be a Big One. So let's get right back into talking about it! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/7f8b7fb62c24d14e45e5e1b7a63b73984df3d731.gif[/img] To begin, we have made it so that the carrier Ryūjō will now tilt her masts to horizontal level before starting flight operations, as was done by IJN carriers at the time. This is a detail we initially missed that was brought to our attention by a player in the comments in our previous diary, and it makes for a more visually satisfying aircraft scramble procedure while also giving you a little bit more of extra time during a surprise attack. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/a939d4d238b69b0b75f23340f9c4e05a70682e7c.gif[/img] We greatly appreciate it when the community points out mistakes or omissions such as these, so please, if you see such details that could be corrected or added, feel free to let us know. Unless it was part of a deliberate gameplay design decision, we will most probably fix it. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/03324e264b7b3a0f1c0ec557d2c2820b2c112512.gif[/img] We have mentioned in previous diaries that we'll be making a distinction in the future between Army and Navy aircraft. Well, that future has arrived since, with the P-38 being added a while back through the threat system update where they were occasionally given as powerful call-ins. P-40s will be added to supplement that, being given out in larger amounts than the P-38 but otherwise being similar to the Wildcat in performance, though notable for always carrying a pair of bombs when encountered in the wild. It's still a free support power, so don't look a gift horse in the mouth! Another role for the P-40s is that they are the bread and butter of the Army Air Corps in the region, and will be joining fights that happen within friendly zones of control produced by airbases, alongside the occasional P-38. This puts them in a mostly defensive role, so you won't be seeing them outside friendly territory all that often unless you are the one calling them in. All in all, we expect P-40s to be commonly available all-rounders, assuming you are keeping your threat level high. They might not be the best support power to use in any given situation, but will also not be the worst either. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/1b67f10b86a73e250f17c8814a328e312d9fdf2b.gif[/img] Speaking of allied zones of control, here is the allied counterpart to the Ryūjō, the Casablanca-Class Carrier! The most produced aircraft carrier class of all time, the Casablanca was a little late for the time period of the game, but was our choice for being the most prominent class of escort carriers to serve in the Pacific front, including in the famous Battle off Samar. Similar to its Japanese counterpart that will be able to operate both fighters and dive bombers, the Casablanca will also be able to operate Wildcats and Dauntless bombers. This may annoy some of you naval enthusiasts who might be tempted to point out that the Casablanca historically did not operate dive bombers. While this may be correct, this is a gameplay decision we had to make because having only the Wildcat (she couldn't operate Corsairs either) would be a little boring, don't you think? Similar to how the Japanese destroyers get their names written in the side of the hull amidships, the Casablancas often had their hull numbers painted on the flight deck. These numbers will be dynamically generated, meaning you will be able to uniquely identify which specific Casablanca-Class carrier is assisting you today. Fun fact; despite being an aircraft carrier, she also has the largest number of weapons to be held by any ship in the game, boasting an impressive AAA complement of 22 20mm cannons, 8 dual 40mm Bofors gun positions, and a 5 inch Dual Purpose gun. You may not have to worry about enemy dive bombers all that much after all! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/8233006137715abac0c88e6f8144f6c01755d632.gif[/img] In the previous diary, we teased the concept of a Strategic Target, working name, without delving into what it is supposed to mean. Now is a good time to explain. Strategic Targets are relatively powerful battlegroups without any baggage; that is, landing crafts or small boats. Each side can only have one such battlegroup on the map at a time, and they won't participate directly in assaults, but try to stay off shore within range of them to provide air cover. While there is no assault going on, they may occasionally go to a port or be out at sea patrolling. On detection, their presence on the map will be announced, and they will be identified with a special marker. As the player, your goal is to sink enemy Strategic Targets wholesale. In a way, it can be said to be analogous to Fortresses at sea; tough targets that defy you to go and raze them. Friendly Strategic Targets will need to be defended, as the AI will target them with special assault groups that focus on seeking and killing ships. These assaults will distract them from landing operations of course, and since they will be particularly beefy groups, create large delays for them in invading your bases due to the resources expended. Similarly to hostile Strategic Targets, they will try to assist assaults or be idle otherwise. Strategic Targets are created by a hidden bar, which will be configurable in Campaign settings eventually, that needs to be filled. The bar is filled over time based on total development, with a time factor as well as Victory Point factor for the Japanese side, meaning both your VP progress and the time elapsed in your Campaign will contribute to how often they get a battlegroup. Strategic Targets will eventually expire and leave the map if they are not destroyed in time, and the cooldown before the next battlegroup will be reduced according to how much of the battlegroup remains intact, giving you further reasons to defend your own strategic targets well. All in all, we hope this new mechanic will elegantly create setpiece battles for you to both marvel at and join in, and break up the monotony of most major fighting happening around bases, while also directly including naval aviation at the tactical level. In addition to featuring in these battlegroups, carriers will occasionally be found escorting particularly large, late game supply groups, and will have a similar effect on the strategic map with their aircraft, but won't be proactive with their positioning. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/19db6c3ff76fc6d8afa3b6cfc10596f3d7e38ef7.gif[/img] Finally, we are adding boat swapping! A much requested feature, the Big Update will make it so that you can swap boats without losing a boat first. Now you will be able to try a different boat out without having to jump through hoops. In closing, thank you once again for being with us in our second year anniversary. We love to both develop, talk about, and play our game, and it's through your support that we get to do all of these things! We hope you share our excitement for the upcoming Big Update, and we hope to see you in the next Developer's Diary as well. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40896017/7d58e777bfcdef22cc81a5f5a6eac8628ef99872.gif[/img] That's all for now, Captain, T.T.